thread of grace

I love telling stories - no surprise there!  I especially get excited when I tell youth (currently my confirmation class) an encounter Jesus had with someone and it changed them.  It gets even more exciting when I hear them repeat the story.  This weekend, among other stories, we talked about the woman that was to be stoned and the woman who was at the well.  These stories for me demonstrate the power of transformation and the ripple effect that can change communities.  The transformation was not just planted in the lives of these two women but in those who were witnesses in the moment and in later conversation.  It reminds me that stories are powerful and their transformative power can have a ripple effect that changes unseen lives. I will and I invite you as well, to ruminate on your story and the activity of grace that is woven throughout.  (As a United Methodist I believe that God's grace is at work in you whether you aware of it or not - prevenient grace) During these next three weeks of our Lenten Season may we focus on the thread of grace that weaves together our story so that on Easter we will see it's ripple effect as a light shining in the darkness.

Wisdom and Waste

I am currently reading "The Wisdom Way of Knowing:  Reclaiming an ancient Tradition to Awaken the Heart,"  by Cynthia Bourgeault.  She quotes (with liberties) from an ancient text I must admit that I am less familiar with Haggai a biblical prophet.  Here is the quote: So now... think; take stock; what do you really want?  You eat but still hunger; you drink but still thirst; you clothe yourselves but can't get warm, and your wages run out through the holes in your pockets. (Haggai 1:6&7).
        Lent is about taking stock.  It is about asking that question - what do I really want - and having a change of direction of my mind and life.  So what have I learned thus far as I journey on Lenten's path?  Through the simplicity of my spending I have learned that I waste a lot.  Many of my purchases are not based on need but on instant gratification.  So I waste money.  I have found that I rush so much that I do not plan ahead enough to take snacks with me and prepare meals at home.  This rushing is of my own doing.  As if I am so important that the world would stop spinning if I slowed down.  This fast pace leaves me feeling exhausted and I find myself having little energy for any other downtime activity besides my television. I waste time and energy.
     So I need to do better.  I need to slow down instead of being in such a rush that I waste time and energy and miss all the human blessings of my life.  What I really want to awaken my heart.  May Wisdom be my guide as I seek to change my heart and mind.
            "Take stock," says Haggai.

Beauty

Find the beauty this day!

road of compassion

Holy One - These days are long and nights seem too short.  Be our strength and our meaningful rest. We are often weak amid the daily struggle to be all that the world pressures us to be.  There is a desire to keep working so hard to prove our worth.  In the wilderness of doubt you stand strong reaching out to guide us.  Where we fall short pick us up and put our feet on the path of compassion - compassion for ourselves and others.   Guide us to walk gently with others, to embrace our worth as your beloved, and to share your love with those we encounter on this Lenten road.  Transform, inspire and create in us a new spirit as we come through the wilderness into the hope of new life.
  ~ Peace

mindfully present ...

In light of my post the other day I must admit that I have done more talking then I would like.  A lot of my words have been driven by angst surrounding my commitment to cut out excess spending during Lent.  Yesterday I had to go to the store to purchase some food supplies for the weekend and soap for the new dishwasher.  I have been so concerned about my violation to my lenten commitment that I have talked about it way too much.  I think I am missing the point.  The point is to change the direction of my mind by not wastefully using my resources and to focus more on the God who sustains me.  As I was in the store with my short list it was very tempting to add all the nonessentials clearly not on my list to my shopping cart.
In the midst of my whining I have realized that I shop and eat out when I am bored.  I have been blessed by moments of slowing down as I try to think through my day before it gets under way to bring food and tea with me as I leave the house.  I have picked up my knitting needles and yarn that fills the bin.  I have also been engaging more in the practice of meditation and yoga - thanks to my stress relief and management class at www.oneroofsaratoga.com.  I have found that I am more aware, more mindful of my mind and body which makes me more present in each moment.
May you too be blessed with moments of slowing down this Lenten Season so that you can be more mindfully present with yourself and others.  Lenten Blessings!

Words of Grace and Truth?

I have started reading the Gospel of John for one of my Lenten practices.  I have always loved the beginning of this text and the ways that Word is used so poetically.  Here is what struck me ... "Everything came into being through the Word."  and "grace and truth came into being through Jesus Christ [the Word]."  This Word brings grace and truth into the world.  It beacons the question to my heart What does my word bring into the world?  Grace and truth?  Today I am trying to speak the least amount of words necessary.  I am examining whether they bring grace and truth into the world.  

My spending is already an act toward the spiritual discipline simplicity.  The practice of simplicity also challenges one to speak less and listen more and to use your words in life giving ways.  Yesterday I took the day off and had a hard time with part one of the discipline practice of simplicity - not making unnecessary purchases like lunch.  And now I am adding this word thing and limiting my speech will be as challenging as part one!  

God, guide my thoughts and words that they may bring grace and truth into the world.  May your Word of life giving power shape my Lenten days and give me direction when I feel led by my earthly desires - like lunch out.  Amen. 

Light, Hope and Faithfulness!

The First Sunday in Lent was filled with laughter and blessing, celebration and joy.  Not what I expected.  Not what I planned.  It is a somber, melancholy day marked with temptation and wrestling in the wilderness.  Yet a light was present in the midst of the dead trees that marked our step on the Lenten journey.  That is how I think it is with God ... a light when we don't plan on it, a ray of hope when we don't expect it,  and a faithfulness when we are at our weakest.

One of the commitments I made for this Lenten season is to look for the holy amid the ordinary and this day I could have missed it.  We get so caught up in our own plan and agenda that we forget to look with an open heart past our own thoughts.

I am grateful for the staff I am blessed to work with each day, the children and youth who open my heart, and the faithful support of those who nurture my soul by their presence and support. Each of you have helped me see the light this day past my own thoughts.  In the people I am honored to serve I have found hope in the most unexpected moments.  And in God's faithful presence I have found strength.

This First Sunday in Lent was filled with laughter and blessing, celebration and joy ... 

Thanks be to God!